Ephemeral
by doompfah
Summary: Hermione's world is normal after the war ended - that is, until she gets infatuated with a prisoner and helps him escape. Now, she's hunted down. She manages to find sanctuary in a former schoolmate's refuge. Meanwhile, a new evil arises and rids of the calm after the war. Together, Hermione and Draco witness the fall of the once-safe Wizarding World. (EWE & SB)
1. Chapter 1

**Ephemeral**

 _Chapter 1_

* * *

She pulled the hood down roughly, shielding her face from the eyes of anyone who would have caught a glimpse of her. Her breathing had come out as short huffs, her lungs begging her to stop and steady her labored breathing.

 _"Are you actually trained Aurors or not? Brooms! Utilize your damn brooms!"_ the voice was soft from the distance, but she heard it nonetheless. This fueled her determination to run faster. She had pushed herself to the limit. Though the chances were slim, she hoped that she could outrun them. She made a sharp turn into an alley filled left and right with midnight vendors.

She continued to head forward and looked back every once in a while to see if anyone was chasing her. As she ran, someone suddenly cut into her path. He wasn't in uniform, but she recognized him as an Auror. She tried to run around him, but one sidestep of the Auror caused their shoulders to bump, and for her to fall onto the pavement.

"I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, but your running has raised some suspicion." the Auror had extended his hand to help her up. "If you don't mind me asking a few questions-"

The Auror halted as he took a sharp inhale of surprise, hand still holding her wrist securely. Most of her arm was still covered, but even the small sight of the _'-OOD'_ on half of her exposed forearm was enough for the Auror to reach for his wand and send bright red sparks into the air - sparks that were meant to call the immediate attention of any nearby Aurors.

Seeing the sparks dissolve into the pitch black sky made her heart drop. She could already see dozens of Aurors on broomsticks rising into the air and rushing towards them. She let out a scream ( _"No!")_ as she quickly drew out her wand with her free hand and casted out a, "Petrificus Totalus!"

"Finite!" the Auror quickly retorted, negating the body-bind, soon following with a, "Stupefy!"

"Finite!" the girl calls out, countering the attack. She cast out her own _Stupefy_ , this time managing to hit the Auror, sending him on his back. Out of pressure from being caught, she cast out _Nox_. All the light in the alley vanished and left it in darkness. People started to cast _Lumos_ but as soon as light started to appear, the girl was gone. The fallen Auror mumbled, "Sonus." as he pointed his wand to his throat. "Target has fled the scene. She shouldn't have gotten far, hunt her down!"

The girl had navigated through many alleys and found herself by the edge of a river, hidden beneath the thick leaves. She fell onto the grass and caught her breath. Crawling towards the edge, she cupped her shaking hands and drank desperately, not caring about how unsanitary the water could be.

She rolled on to her back, the tips of her curly brown hair dipping into the river above her head. She let her tears finally slide down her face as she let her frustration out. The world was now against her because of what she'd done. No one would stay by her side, not even her best friends. Both of them were Aurors, for crying out loud, and she was now one of their targets.

Oh, just what had she gotten herself into?

Her crying subsides and she was now silent, staring at the leaves that rustled above her head. It wasn't long before thoughts came swarming into her head.

' _So I've temporarily escaped. Excellent, but now what? There's nowhere to go to - the entire Wizarding World might soon be after my head!'_ she thought grimly. She could almost see her name in the headlines, known as the savior-turned-traitor. She began pondering what to do next. It wouldn't be long until she was going to be found. And when she _was_ found, she was bound to be kissing the cold walls of Azkaban. She pondered, and pondered, and pondered –

– until she came to a decision. She quickly got up on her feet and tucked her wand into her dirtied cloak. She walked the length of the river, and planned to continue until she would reach her destination.

She stayed hidden behind the trees, and was extra cautious when she saw a small alleyway that gave a glimpse of Knockturn Alley. This was her landmark that she was close to where she needed to be. She continued walking along the bank of the river until she faced a wide space with nothing but ruins. Not even the color of the grass seemed alive, and the dark night sky was not to blame. She approached the ruins and walked cautiously over them, avoiding being seen.

She walked above the ruins and, even through the pile of wreckage, found that she was in the courtyard in the center of what was once a handsome fortress. Quiet and lazy singing could be heard from somewhere close to her. She began searching around and found that it came from a small temple made out of stone. She bent down and peeked through the open archway that served as an entrance. Three Shrunken Heads were swaying to the singing of the one in the middle. Every once in a while, the other two would join in with the lyrics.

"Excuse me," she said quietly and caught the attention of the three Shrunken Heads. They stared at her until she spoke up. "I was wondering if-"

She was rudely cut off by the Shrunken Heads singing once again.

" _Once I saw a Nightingale,"_

"I just wanted to know if-"

" _Who sang so well,"_

"-you knew how to get to-"

" _Made my heart swell!"_ the middle one sang.

"Though you don't have a heart!" the other two sang back. "You're literally just a bell-sized head!" one of them called out. "We all are!" another replied. All three of them laughed loudly, but the girl was not impressed. She pursed her lips as she held back her anger. She took a deep breath and asked again, this time, more bossy.

"Show me to your master." she demanded.

The three heads made no sound as they fell limp. "What? Will you make no sound now that I need you to?" she huffed angrily, reaching into the entrance to threaten them. "We have no master." the middle one said monotonously. He acted completely different from how he was just a moment ago. The girl took this as a good sign. She would finally be taken seriously now.

"Don't waste your breath lying to me. Three Shrunken Heads couldn't possibly have created this temple-like home you have. And it's most impossible that this poor structure you reside in could have _possibly_ survived the wreckage!" she insisted. Receiving no reply, she narrowed her eyes and slowly drew out her wand, pointing it to their small stone house. "Tell me or I will wreck your home."

"A name, miss?" the middle head asked quietly, earning quiet gasps from the two other heads. The girl lifted her head and stated her name.

The middle head looked at his brothers before rolling down what seemed to be a tiny staircase. "Where's he going?" she demanded and the two brothers lowered their heads, answering not her question. The silence seemed to mean something heavy, and so she reluctantly lowered her wand and sat down beside the house.

Meanwhile, the other head rolled down the staircase until he reached the very bottom, where he rolled onto a long brown table. He continued to roll until he reached the very end, where a makeshift bed from stacked grass and sheets were placed. On it was a man who was reading a book. The flickering candle on the edge of the table served as his source of light.

"Master," the head said quietly. "There is someone above who wants to meet you."

"You know very well I don't let anyone down here. Make them leave at once."

"But, sir-"

The man closed his book roughly. He turned and sneered at the severed head that quivered on his table. "Are you deaf? How can you possibly miss what I said? I have no allies out there, who do you think would be finding me? Huh? That's right, Aurors! _Only_ Aurors who want me locked up or, better yet, _dead_ like my father! So unless you want to prove to me that you're even more of a stupid fool than I first thought you to be, you could go rolling back to your brothers and tell the bothersome prick that there is no one who resides-"

"It's the girl, sir." the Shrunken Head said quietly, making the snarky blond boy's mouth shut immediately. "What girl?" he asked in a threatening voice. "The one who my brothers and I see often come by to inspect the ruins for _months_ now. She - she must know what's down here, master." the head replies. The blond boy stared at him as if he expected to hear something from the head.

"She presents herself as Hermione Granger, master-" the head squeals in fear as the boy grabs him by his long black hair. "Keep the entrance _shut_. Scum are not allowed in my only safe place, especially not a filthy witch like her." he told the head intimidatingly. _"Go!"_ he hissed as he let go of the head.

The Shrunken Head quickly rolled away as the boy sneered in the direction of the Shrunken Head Brothers' staircase. "Brave of her to come forcing her way in here, but so very foolish to do so." he mumbled to himself as reached for his wand and stood by the staircase to hear whatever conversation might unfold.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ephemeral**

 _Chapter 2_

* * *

Hermione waited patiently by the house, alongside the quiet brothers. She knew very well that impatience in this kind of scenario would dampen the chances of her wishes ever getting fulfilled. She did, however, want to receive an immediate reply. It wouldn't be long until the Aurors find and take her away. She shuddered at the thought.

A quiet commotion in the house made Hermione peek inside. She was able to see the brothers whispering furiously to one another. "Well? How did it go?" Hermione asked and the brothers silenced at once. The black-haired head who had just returned came forward. "I kindly ask that you leave at once." he said apologetically. Hermione's heart dropped as she furrowed her eyebrows. She swallowed then took a deep breath. "What do you mean? Does your master reject my request?" she asked them.

"As I've previously said, we have no master." the head insisted. "I merely went down to recoil from stress. I wasn't always the best when dealing with mean people, they make me nervous."

Hermione bit her tongue to keep herself from releasing words that would have hurt the sensitive head's feelings. "I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean. I was only trying to, er, stow myself away somewhere safe. No Auror seems to know the possibility that a safe house could be under these ruins, you see?" she told them. The heads gasp in reply.

"You're hiding," the blond head began.

"From Aurors?" the bald one quivered.

"You're wanted? A criminal?" the black-haired head asked quietly.

 _Ah, that sounds flattering, doesn't it?_

"Don't put it like that, and that's none of your business!" she snapped back. "You all speak too much! If I get found, I'm going to incinerate you three, one by one. Now, either you let me in, or only your ashes would be left in your home!"

 _Way to go._

Hermione knew she just thinned out her chances of ever being allowed inside, but she was stressed and pressured. She was exposed, for Merlin's sake. One glimpse at the ruins and she'd be caught like a deer in headlights. She'd then be dragged to Azkaban and—

 _Whew._ She shut her eyes and calmed herself down.

She'd rather not think about what'd happen to her if she was caught. Azkaban definitely treated their prisoners better (compared to the times when they used Dementors), but it was still painful for Hermione Jean Granger to imagine that she would have a _record_ in Azkaban. Dismissing the rules in Hogwarts was one thing, but out in the Wizarding World, it was certainly different. Never in her life as a student did she see herself committing a crime and being sent to prison.

But, of course, she never really _was_ interested in divination. She never could have seen what her future would have looked like.

It was very faint, but Hermione could hear it. She heard yelling from the distance, likely around Knockturn Alley.

 _"_ _Split up! Apparate to where she could have possibly gone to. Grimmauld, Hogwarts - anywhere! Hurry, get a move on! You, take your team to the ruins. She could have gone there as well. Move!"_

Hermione was horrified, then grabbed the house by the sides, and yelled down the staircase. Begging surely wasn't something a stubborn witch would do, but it was likely action for a desperate one. "I _know_ someone's down there! Please, let me stay for a few minutes, just until they leave me alone. Please, I beg of you!"

Receiving no answer, she quickly ducked behind a broken wall. She peeked from the side and saw an Auror get off her broomstick. Hermione drew out her wand in preparation and watches carefully as the Auror walked closer. She recognized the Auror as Marcella Thompkins - she was always fond of going into battle alone. That trait was both her strength and her weakness. Marcella drew out her wand and held it in front of her as she cautiously approached the ruins.

It was smart of Marcella to get off of her broom, but it did make things a little difficult for Hermione. If only the Auror hadn't gotten off - if only she'd searched the ruins from the sky. Hermione could've easily sent a Stupefy and the fall would have given her enough time to flee, but of course Marcella had to expect that sort of attack.

The young Auror was fast approaching and Hermione had to take immediate action. Marcella was quick - once she sees Hermione, she'd send a Stupefy at once. The only thing she could do now was Apparate or sneak away. Apparating seemed to be the most logical choice, but where was she to go? To some forest where she had no idea if there were Aurors around? She had nowhere to run to. The Aurors were a lot jumpy once they saw Hermione as an enemy.

A witch with that much capability was a blessing to their side, but they had to be vigilant now that she appeared to have sided with a prisoner - an enemy. They saw her as a threat, but she knew she was far from such. No matter how remarkable she was in the eyes of the Wizarding World, she knew she had lots more to learn. For now, sneaking away seemed to be her only choice. As silently as she could, Hermione attempted to slip to another broken wall before Marcella could see her.

Once hidden, Marcella had quickly rounded and pointed her wand at where Hermione used to be. The curly haired witch held in her relieved sigh as she proceeded to sneak further away. An unsteady brick on the ground made a noise as she stepped on it, thus giving away her location. "Expelliarmus!" Marcella cast out as Hermione had luckily ran out of its path. The Auror recoiled quickly, and sent an Everte Statum at Hermione.

Hermione huffs as she gets thrown onto her back, her wand dropping somewhere on the ground close to her. Marcella approaches her with a wand pointed. Her eyes narrowed at Hermione.

"I should tell you that I looked up to you. I became an Auror in hopes of becoming a talented and respected witch like yourself. You were a role model to many young witches in the Wizarding World, and you _destroyed_ our admiration when you set free two of our prisoners." Marcella spat, thrusting her wand forward threateningly. Hermione had nothing to say. The Auror sucked in her breath and pursed her lips, hands shaking. "How could you let us _all_ down like that? Who knows what those two plan to do now that you've set them free!"

The witch on the ground swallowed. She sat herself up and Marcella kept her wand pointed at her. "I didn't tell anyone to look up at me." Hermione whispered, hand patting at the ground to find her wand. Her fingers touch the slim stick. "I make my own decisions, and then I get blamed for trivial things like destroyed admiration? I know what I'm doing, and I tell you, I'm not releasing chaos into our world!" she hisses, quickly grasping her wand, then pointing it at Marcella as she cast out Petrificus Totalus.

Hermione then whispered, "He's not like that."

Marcella freezes and falls onto the ruins, watching as Hermione stood over her with a wand pointed down. "And please, for your own safety, stop charging into battle alone. You have a team who cares for you dearly, do _not_ make them worry for your safety." she pleads before she casts a banishing charm, sending Marcella's body back to the direction where she came from. Hermione swallows heavily again as she stares at the direction where Marcella disappeared to. She was going to be seen by her team, and they would come soaring over in seconds. Hermione needed to act quickly.

She turns her attention back to the home of the three Shrunken Heads and points her wand towards it. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her nose flared up in what seemed to be anger. The brothers began to panic and beg for her to spare them ("Please don't incinerate us!", "We're sorry, we had no choice!").

 _"_ _Engorgio."_ she says in a low voice. The stone house enlarges, enough for her to stoop down and crawl into. "What - what are you doing?" one of the heads asked as he trembled. "What does it look like?" the witch hissed as she forced her way inside.

"You shouldn't be doing this! Please, get out!" they pleaded to her, but their pleas met deaf ears as Hermione paid them no attention. She had no choice; Marcella's team would catch up any time soon and she still had nowhere else to go. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say.

Behind her, she countered the engorgement charm to bring the house back to its original size. Down the narrow spiral staircase she went. She could see a candlelight flickering at the bottom of the stairs. _'I knew somebody was here.'_ she thought proudly and hurried down. As she hopped on to the final floor, an Expelliarmus made her wand fly out her grasp. Before she could retrieve it, a wand was pointed at the back of her neck, making her stop dead in her tracks.

"Forcing your way into people's properties - are you not aware that what you're doing is a crime called trespassing?" the person behind her said in a low and threatening voice. Hermione felt her heart race. "How did you know I was coming down?" she asked him. Her company gave a fake and mocking laugh.

"What, you thought I was ignorant or deaf? You literally announced your entrance! Also, how dare you boss around _my_ Shrunken Heads like that? Well, honestly now, I shouldn't be surprised. Considering you always _were_ a bossy little witch, even in school." he jeered.

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek as she clamped her eyes shut in ire. "Aren't you the _smartest witch of our age_? Your brain must work perfectly well, so I assume you could place a name for me." he mocked, simpering to himself when he noticed her shoulders rise as she inhaled sharply. "Remember _me_ , Granger?"

"You should know that I didn't choose to be here." Hermione said quickly.

"Are you actually really stupid? You made your choice of going here when you, oh I don't know, threatened _three defenseless Shrunken Heads_." he sneered. Hermione clenched her fists. She didn't want to think about her wrongdoings. She wasn't afraid of confrontation, nor was she denying what she'd done wrong - she just wanted to sit in silence as she collected her thoughts. With this remark, Hermione decided to keep quiet. The lack of response made her companion click their tongue in disappointment.

He shoved her to the ground and walked towards the other room. "I will admit, I am a bit curious of what the Auror meant by you releasing a prisoner – no, _two_ , actually!" she heard his voice say, followed by clinking of metals. She reached forward the grab her wand in front of her.

Hermione slowly got on her feet as she followed his voice, wand drawn. He continued to speak, "Who was is that Hermione Granger, _treasured_ 'Golden Girl', released that she is now being hunted down by Aurors, despite having her best friends in the same organization?"

Upon entering the room, Hermione confirmed who she had stumbled upon. He had his back to her, but the blond hair on his head and the pale white skin that showed under the rolled up sleeves of his black dress shirt was enough to tell her that this was indeed her former schoolmate and longtime enemy, Draco Malfoy.

He placed the teapot on the table, tea leaves still steeping inside. He placed two mismatched teacups on the table and then lifted his gaze to meet the brown eyes of Hermione. She stared back at his icy blue-gray eyes, then drifted her gaze to the cups on the dark brown table.

"The cups bother me as well. I was always used to having matching porcelain ones." he shared as he took a seat onto a chair that creaked every time it was sat on. He took out the tea leaves and filled his cup. Hermione watched as he took a sip.

Draco puts down his cup. "What, do you wish for me to pull out your chair and fix you up a drink? Put on a clean cloth on your lap, is that it? Pardon me, I wasn't aware this was a bloody tea party." he responds impudently.

Hermione scoffs then reluctantly takes a seat opposite to him. She dragged her chair forward (to spite him) then proceeded to pour a cup for herself. She hoped to receive a reaction, but was met with silence as Draco drank his tea peacefully. "You're awfully civil with me. Why's that?" she asks. Draco raises an eyebrow.

"Oh? _You're_ awfully calm for someone who could be taken away by Aurors any moment now." he returns. Hermione rolled her eyes and exhaled in exhaust. " _Please_ , you're more of a fugitive than I am, Mr. I-took-the-Dark-Mark-to-gloat-about-it." she retorted.

The blond seemed to have something to say, as his deeply offended expression suggested, but he ended up clenching his jaw and reaching the teapot for another round instead. Hermione exhaled through her nostrils as she looked down at the steam that came from her still-hot tea. "Answer my question." she ordered.

Draco relaxed himself and placed the teapot back on the metallic plate on the table when he finished refilling his cup. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to blow you to pieces for wanting me in Azkaban so badly. But I know doing so would only mess my only home in the process. Whether you believe me or not, this wreck of the place is the only thing that keeps me safe now.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? I'm more of a fugitive than you are. My name is stained to the point of no return, all because I was a git of a child. I used to be respected, if not feared, and I glorified it all too much. After all, my family _was_ one of the Sacred 28." Hermione rolled her eyes at his remark.

The narcissistic fool still had his head higher than the clouds.

He took another sip out of his cup then sat back against his chair. "And to answer your question, I've decided that, in order to get things in my favor, I must widen my options. Instead of limiting myself to Pure and Half Bloods, I could begin to tolerate Muggleborn."

Hermione scoffed. "That's one way to say you'd like to start over, isn't it?" she asked with a mocking smile. Draco wrinkled his nose in protest, then rolled his eyes in contempt. "I'd take a trip down memory lane to tell you all about the Malfoy history and how wrong you are, but I've concluded that you aren't worthy of hearing it." He stands up and looks down down at her with his usual antagonistic eyes. "Besides, it's late. I'd rather not tire myself any further."

With that, Draco left to return to the other room. Hermione grinds her teeth before getting up to place the used dishes on the sink. She follows after him and finds that he had just finished preparing his bed. He lifts himself up on his makeshift and sits upon it. He had picked up his wand and had it pointed at the candlelight. Draco notices Hermione looking at him, and he raises his eyebrows in question. "What now? You've already trespassed and I've given you tea. I'd say I've showed you too much kindness. I'm not giving you a bed." he spat.

"Where I sleep is hardly my concern. I'm far more concerned that you _allow_ a stranger to stay while you sleep - completely _vulnerable_. I could kill you, you know?" Hermione replies, drawing out her wand to further prove her point. Draco only stares at her, completely apathetic to her tiny sermon about how reckless he was.

"If you're done, feel free to lie anywhere on the ground." Draco says as he arranges his blanket, then gives Hermione a stern look in the eye. "You wouldn't do it anyway. You're a right smart-aleck, but I know that you, of all people, are better than that."

And with a flick of his wand, the lights were out.


End file.
